By Tom Breihan
on April 7, 2009 at 4:35 p.m. EDT

Yesterday, Wired reported all the details on the forthcoming Nine Inch Nails iPhone application, which, if Trent Reznor's recent web 2.0 immersion is any indication, will be the absolute opposite of half-assed. It will be full-assed. The free Nine Inch Nails app, which should be available in the next few days, will reportedly offer mobile access to NIN music, photos, videos, message boards, and something called Nearby, which Reznor associate Rob Sheridan describes as "kind of like Twitter within the Nine Inch Nails network."

But although Reznor is an early adopter in just about every way, he's not the first artist to launch an iPhone app. Poking around the iPhone App Store turns up plenty of other intriguing offerings. If you can figure out a way to keep your wireless connection working for longer than 10 minutes at a time, there's plenty of fun to be had here.

By Ryan Dombal
on February 3, 2009 at 1:15 p.m. EST

Death Cab for Cutie are moving into the future. Won't you join them? For DCFC fans with iPhones, this new app is a no-brainer-- it's classy, useful, free. We predict this is only the beginning of the band iPhone app craze, and it sets a solid precedent.

Best bits: A show tracker that not only lists the band's upcoming gigs but tells you the closest one to your current location...and directions to get there! This could result in a rash of spur-of-the-moment, tears-running-down-the-face Death Cab road trips. And: Lyrics to all the band's songs! Cyrano-ing that indie girl next to you at the vegan cafe just got a lot easier. You also get eight Death Cab songs, photos and the ever-elusive DCFC history. Plus, access to the band's YouTube page, where you won't find any videos from their past two albums.

All of which got me thinking...what else would I want from my favorite band's iPhone app? Dreamworld talk: It would be cool to possibly pay a reasonable monthly fee and automatically receive access to the band's entire catalogue-- like a newfangled fan club subscription. New models, people! Some sort of karaoke option would be fun. Or maybe a band-themed version of Tetris. Think big.